Local

Security Force Assistance Advisor Team members, portrayed by Soldiers with 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, discuss host nation security integration in a meeting during the last training rotation at the NTC in early August.

Are the local police your best friends, or worst enemies? When you get into a firefight, will the keepers of a city’s laws have your back? The answers come from Security Force Assistance Advisor Teams. The SFAAT’s roles at the National Training Center are the same as they would be in combat: to act as liaisons between Rotational Training Units at the NTC and the replicated Host Nation Security Forces.

During the last training rotation, several Blackhorse troopers once again displayed their adaptability to perform any mission by serving as SFAAT personnel for the training unit. Amongst them were two Troopers from India Battery, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment: 2nd Lt. Peter Hughes and Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Arthaud.

“The SFAAT’s ability to relay critical information between the RTU and the HNSF was usually the deciding factor of how the town felt about us,” said Arthaud.

The town’s populace often follows the sentiments of local forces. If the unit fails to integrate and utilize the local forces, the town’s attitude towards U.S. forces is negative.

Arthaud’s primary role was to relay information of the local Chief’s intentions, motivations and perspectives of security to the RTU. He attended security meetings and helped facilitate integrating security during any provincial meetings. His job was to maintain a clear line of communication between security assets from the nearby Tactical Operations Center and the fictional town of JDL.

“SFAAT members can expect to be in the thick of many security patrols, and make sure that the RTU and HNSF are properly integrating their forces,” Hughes said.

Hughes and Arthaud were assigned to the RTU throughout the Full Spectrum Operations portion of the rotation. They participated in several key After Action Reviews throughout the rotation, affording them a greater depth of the training successes and shortcomings of the RTU, and providing an embedded perspective of feedback, for the RTU and Blackhorse troopers alike.

“Being part of the SFAAT is a unique experience; one that will be new to many Blackhorse troopers,” said Arthaud.

Blackhorse Troopers continue to replicate systems that are similar to those in today’s combat environment. By playing the role of a SFAAT member, they are teaching the RTU how to better integrate with host nation forces and better utilize them to accomplish the mission.

Local Military Discounts

Pentagon Channel

Gustavo Bahena National Training Center and Fort Irwin Commander Maj. Gen. Ted Martin pins an Army Commendation Medal on the uniform of Sgt. Joseph Bailey, Non-commissioned Officer of the Year for fiscal year 2014 during a cere...

The National Training Center and Fort Irwin invites the community to celebrate African American/Black History Month at Sandy Basin Community Center at 11:30 a.m., Feb. 11. The theme for this year’s observance is “A Century of Black Life, History and Culture.” The theme was proclaimed by the 100-year-old organization, Association for the Study of African...

A well-known Department of the Army civilian here, and friend of many, spoke at a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration, Jan. 7. John Winkfield, director of the National Training Center Equal Employment Opportunity office, s...

Photo by Gustavo Bahena, Public Affairs Office The commander of Fort Irwin Dental Clinic Command, Col Todd Kimura, and his daughter, Hannah, participated in the December Resiliency Week chili cook-off with their recipe, “Boil...

February is Children’s Dental Health Month and at the Fort Irwin Pediatric Dental Clinic we love to see kids smile! Here are some tips to help keep those smiles sparkling. Brush: Brushing twice daily with toothpaste that contains fluoride is an important part of your child’s routine. Fluoridated toothpaste may be used as early as...

Information

Publisher

High Desert Warrior, a civilian enterprise newspaper, is an authorized publication for members of the United States Army and Fort Irwin community. Contents of this newspaper are not necessarily official view of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, Department of the Army or Fort Irwin and the National Training Center.

Disclaimer

Aerotech News and Review is a private firm in no way connected with the Department of the Army and is responsible for the commercial advertising found in this publication.
The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of the Army of the products or services advertised.